Meet Our Grads (Original)

AARONN WILSON

creative assistant

I am a writer, film enthusiast and most importantly a youth activist. After experiencing the criminal justice system at seventeen, when I was tried as an adult, I feel it a necessity to give back. Spirit Awakening Foundation has not only given me an outlet, it has also helped me to improve myself, by digging deep into and dealing with issues that I had hidden from my own consciousness.

johna rivers

foster youth outreach liason

My name is Johna Rivers. I am 21 years old, and I’m a survivor. I was put into foster care at the age of nine, not understanding why this is my story. Through Spirit Awakening I’ve been able to tell my story, performing my original pieces in “Voices of the Unheard.” I’ve been to the beautiful Esalen Institute and I got to travel to the motherland and visit Ghana! I am now the Foster Youth Outreach Liaison for Spirit Awakening, where I help other foster youth connect and find themselves.

FRINA OAKES

PEER MENTOR

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the way Spirit Awakening has supported me and helped me grow. Now I am a mentor for the program and it gives me joy to assist in that same growth for others. No matter where you come from, or what you may have been through, you are beautiful and worthy of all the love and joy this life has to offer.